Abdel Moneim Abu El Fotouh officially registers his party "Strong Egypt" among supporters in Cairo (Photo: Mai Shaheen)
Former presidential candidate and founder of "Strong Egypt" Party, Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh stated on Wednesday that all necessary registration documents were submitted to the Parties Affairs Committee at the Supreme Court to officially recognize the new political party.
Hundreds of his supporters and members, mostly youth, gathered in front of the Supreme Court early Wednesday morning from different areas in Cairo and Giza's working class districts - Nahaya and Imbaba - as well from the Suez and Tanta governorates.
"Strong Egypt" supporters carried the party’s flags and wore its white and orange logos, as they waited for Abul-Fotouh to arrive.
Members of Ultras “Fatahawy” also celebrated the official registration of the party, chanting party slogans and waving the Ultras flags with the logo “Strong Egypt.”
The large crowd of supporters disrupted mid-day traffic on 26 of July Street downtown Cairo.
The Party’s co-founding members, former Muslim Brotherhood member and Islamist lawyer Mokhater Noah and leftist activist and professor Rabab ElMahdi arrived before Abul-Fotouh presented about 8500 signatures from members (Powers of Attorney)to the Parties Affairs.
A press conference was cancelled last minute due to the crowds in front of the Supreme Court. Instead, Abul-Fotouh addressed his audience outside the court building for two minutes before leaving.
“If it were not for the martyrs of the 25 January revolution, we would not be here,” Abul-Fotouh told the crowd. He added that the principles and goals of the “Strong Egypt” Party are the same goals of the Egyptian revolution - “Bread, Freedom and Social Justice.”
“The revolution continues till we achieve the demands of the revolution, the demands of the Egyptian people,” said the former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood and former presidential candidate who "refused polarization and welcomed all political powers and trends to the party from left to right and from Islamists to Christians."
According to the Political Party Law, to launch a political party, the applicants must send a request to the committee which in return should reply within 30 days.
Should the applicants receive no reply from the committee within the 30-day period, the party becomes legally accredited the next day.
“Strong Egypt” Party originally emerged last June from the presidential campaign of Abul-Fotouh that included thousands of volunteers from different political trends and parts of the country.
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